Help spread the word -- Plant a Unity Garden

**"Susan McCoy" b*@impact-pr.com**

Come Down to Earth and Plant a Unity Garden; A Symbol of Humanity's Common
Ground - South Burlington, Vermont (March, 2003) - As National Garden Month
approaches, National Gardening Association (NGA) asks gardeners everywhere
to plant Unity Gardens.
	First there were Liberty Gardens, conceived during World War I. World War
II ushered in the Victory Garden. Both of these campaigns were promoted by
the federal government with the dual purpose of urging people to be
self-sufficient during a time when resources were scarce, and to rally
citizens in patriotic activity.
	"Now is the time for unity," explains Valerie Kelsey, president of the
nonprofit association.  "In these times of conflict and uncertainty, we know
that gardening has power.  The idea is to use your garden or the act of
gardening to connect with others."
	On one level, a Unity Garden expresses the needs we share as human beings:
the need for food, fresh air, exercise, and healing. It also embodies how
gardens satisfy our impulses to be productive, to nurture living things, and
to leave a healthy and beautiful legacy - something to be proud of. On a
deeper level, it symbolizes our desire to make the world a better place by
coming together.
	What does a Unity Garden look like? It's less about design, and more about
attitude. It includes all cultural and political interests and crosses over
all social and religious boundaries.  Gardening is all-inclusive.
	The main idea is to find a way to share with others what is important to
you about gardening: share plants from your garden with a neighbor; add an
extra row in your vegetable garden for a food shelf; plant a butterfly
garden with an afterschool program; invite some kids in from the
neighborhood to enjoy a garden tea party; join with a group and plant
flowers in a vacant lot.  Just unite with someone to plant something.
Organizers, including sponsors Simply Beautiful annuals
(simplybeautifulgardens.com) Star Roses (starroses.com), Soil Soup compost
tea brewers (soilsoup.com) and WOLF-Garten tools (wolf-garten.com), see
gardening as a way to bring us together as members of communities and,
ultimately, as one nation.
For more ideas on how to connect through your Unity Garden, visit the "101
Ways to Celebrate" at the National Garden Month Web site: www.garden.org.
Send in your ideas and post them on our garden message board.
	Join NGA as we celebrate humanity's common ground through gardening. Plan
your Unity Garden today!
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